Building Amphibians at Cowes: Cantilever Three‐Ply Wings on Straight Frame Metal Hulls Produced by Saunders‐Roe

Abstract

THE firm of Saunders‐Roe under its present title is of comparatively recent date, being probably better known as S. E. Saunders, under which name it has been established many years and gained a worldwide reputation for building high‐speed launches, and for its system of constructing the skin of boats from double‐ or multi‐ply planking, sewn together with copper wire. This produced a skm that for toughness and strength was far ahead of other methods of construction. It was, however, expensive, and an attempt was made to produce a ply skin stitched together with thread in a sewing‐machine. This construction was called “Consuta,” but though it was possible to produce enormous sheets by this method, at a considerably lower cost than by the hand‐stitched copper‐wire system, it made little headway, owing mainly to the fact that it was only suitable for thin skins, and in thin material it was much more expensive than ordinary three‐ply without conpensating advantages.

Citation

Handasyde, G.H. (1931), "Building Amphibians at Cowes: Cantilever Three‐Ply Wings on Straight Frame Metal Hulls Produced by Saunders‐Roe", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 3 No. 11, pp. 275-278. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb029471